Evaluation of Emergency Department of tertiary health care hospital of Central India with special reference to waiting period

Dr Ashok R Jadhao; Dr Prithvi Petkar; Dr Jyotsna Deshmukh; Dr Sanjivani A Jadhao; Dr Suresh Ghangale

Volume : VIII, Issue : VIII, August - 2018

Evaluation of Emergency Department of tertiary health care hospital of Central India with special reference to waiting period

Dr Ashok R Jadhao, Dr Prithvi Petkar, Dr Jyotsna Deshmukh, Dr Sanjivani A Jadhao, Dr Suresh Ghangale

Abstract :

Background: The Emergency Department (ED) is known to be one of the most congested units in any hospital that faces greater pressure in terms of patient load and health care resources as compared to other departments of the health care system. Patients who check into a hospital‘s emergency department often experience long wait times resulting in treatment delay. Aim: The objective of the present study was to evaluate the ED of tertiary health care hospital of Central India with special reference to waiting period, hurdles in getting services and level of satisfaction among the beneficiaries of ED. Materials and Methods: This cross–sectional study was conducted in the ED of Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital (IGGMCH), Nagpur from 08th to 14th April, 2018. The data was obtained from 375 patients by interns in different working shifts of the ED round the clock. Results: 18.14 % of study subjects had to wait for more than 2 hours for getting treatment. The unavailability of medicines (5.86%) was a major hurdle along with unavailability of wheel chairs/stretchers (4.26%) and attendants(3.73%).Majority(98%) of the patients have rated the services as satisfactory barring few who were dissatisfied with nurses(3.4%). Majority of the patients came to ED after routine OPD hours in the afternoon and very few patients came in the wee hours. Conclusion: About one in five patients had to wait for more than two hours for getting treatment. Satisfaction was expressed by majority of the study subjects. The unavailability of medicines and other logistics was a major hurdle narrated by study subjects.